Reasons
by Vixen in Violet
Summary: Drabble. Post-series. There are some things even Brandon can't have. T for language.


**A/N:** Drabble. Post-series, but the new 90210 does not exist.

* * *

**Reasons**

He swirled the drink in his glass absentmindedly as he gazed at two women sitting across from him at the bar.

"See something you like?" The bartender tossed his hand towel over his shoulder and helped himself to a shot of whiskey. "Hoo… that's good," he muttered and shook his head.

Brandon said nothing as he continued to move his glass, swishing the golden liquid in a perfect circle.

"Anyone with eyes would choose the blonde, but the other one's got a nice figure." The bartender downed a glass of water as he eyed the same women that had fully occupied Brandon's attention until that moment.

"You sound like quite the charmer," he said evenly.

"There's always a couple like them." The bartender smirked. "Every night, some lonely girls end up staying a little too long because they haven't run into Mr. Right. That's when I come in to save 'em by introducing them to Mr. Daniel." He jerked his thumb toward the bottle behind the counter that he'd been steadily draining throughout the evening.

Brandon sat impassively but deliberately let go of his own glass of the same stuff.

"If you don't make a move, buddy, you might not wanna stick around after hours." He winked.

"Trust me," Brandon said. "I don't plan to."

Not listening, the bartender continued, "Oh, yeah… Now that I think of it, that little brunette would feel pretty nice-"

'_I think a good fist in the face would feel pretty nice.'_ Brandon sent a deathly glare at the man whose back was turned to him.

"Ha. Or even better, can you imagine having them _both_ in your-"

"They're gay." Brandon looked him straight in the eye, mouth only slightly twitching at the look of pure shock on the other man's face.

"No fuckin' way…" He glanced back at the women who were laughing and swatting each other playfully. He then glanced back at Brandon. "How did you-"

"I already tried." Brandon patted the stock-still arm of the bartender before pushing his half-finished glass forward. "Keep the change."

"What a turn on…" he heard over his shoulder.

Brandon decided to ignore that last comment as he made his way around the bustling space.

Neither woman even so much as glanced his way until he cleared his throat.

Kelly's eyes grew wide. "Brandon!"

He dipped his head in greeting. "Ladies."

"Did you just get here?" Andrea asked with a bright smile.

"Who, me? I came over an hour ago."

"What? Why didn't you say anything? We could have caught up." She punched him lightly in the arm. "We would've invited you, but you've been so busy lately."

"Ah, well… I was with a colleague, anyway, so it was a last minute deal. No worries. You two heading home?"

"Oh, we were just about to catch a movie, actually." Kelly nodded to the other woman as she spoke. "Do you want to come?"

Brandon paused to consider the offer and heaved a dramatic sigh. "You know, it's a bit late, and I've got to get into the office early tomorrow. But thanks," he finished, gracing them with a half-smile.

"You've been working awfully hard," Andrea stated, brow furrowed. "Are you getting enough rest?"

"I came here, didn't I?" he answered lamely, hooking his thumbs in his back pockets in what he hoped was a relaxed manner.

Andrea raised an eyebrow and was about to retort when he cut her off.

"Besides, I think you know better than anyone how easy it is to get sucked into your work, miss library rat."

"Oh, yeah? And who was the first person to always leave the library – between you and I?"

"She has a point," Kelly chimed in, adding her own raised brow to the tidal wave of judgment Brandon was feeling sweep over him at the moment.

"Gah – okay, okay. I'm working too hard, getting paid too little, and am appreciated by no one except the interns because I sometimes bring donuts. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

The women glanced at each other and chuckled.

"No," replied Andrea, "but close enough."

"So, are we going or what?" Kelly had gathered her belongings and was observing him expectantly.

"I'm sorry. I'm still gonna have to pass." He nodded to each one. "Have a good time."

He didn't miss the flash of disappointment in their eyes, but he didn't sway, either.

"Give us a call when you have some free time," Andrea spoke up. "We miss you."

Before Brandon could assure them that he felt the same way, another thought quickly took form in his mind. "Don't worry about me." He smiled, and he hoped the gesture reached his eyes.

All were silent for a moment as customers shuffled around them in time for closing.

"We'd better hurry, or we'll miss the last showing." Kelly turned to Andrea and back to Brandon with an apologetic tilt of her head.

"Yep. We'll see you around, Brando." Andrea offered him a light smile as she grabbed her coat and followed Kelly out the door.

"And off they go."

Brandon heard a whistle behind him.

"Some days you're just shit outta luck, man." The bartender was just finishing up placing the chairs on all of the tabletops, and Brandon had half a mind to accidentally knock some of them down.

However, he said nothing as he, too, finally left the bar and was greeted by the hot, summer night air.

It wasn't as if he _had_ to talk to them tonight. He would've been content just seeing their warm faces and hearing their peals of laughter carrying across the already noisy room.

That damn snake of a man had provoked him, though, and for some reason he'd found it impossible to simply ignore.

Kelly. It was such a typically sleazy way to talk about her. He had heard it too many times before, but that didn't make him any less angry whenever he did hear it again.

Andrea. He wasn't used to hearing her being objectified, but he felt his blood boiling as soon as the words wormed their way into his brain.

These things were unacceptable. He'd had to make sure they got on all right, that they left without hindrance from… others.

Was that overstepping his boundaries? Should he have even worried if two grown women could take care of themselves?

They were his friends, he reasoned. He cared about them like any friend would. Not beyond that, though. He didn't and wouldn't have any say in what they chose to do in their private lives; Kelly could return to West Beverly for that counseling position that had just opened. Andrea could switch to any hospital in the country to continue her career if she so desired.

He wouldn't be a part of any of it, and it was better that way.

It was evident that the two were becoming close, as any normal people would when they've been reunited after years of living apart. And, as any normal people would, they would carry on with their lives and become intertwined with others, starting their own families - or, in Andrea's case, giving Hannah new brothers or sisters - and reaching for their dreams.

Brandon Walsh was no one to get into the middle of that. This was not high school, nor was it college, and it certainly wasn't the same Beverly Hills in which he had grown up years ago.

These were the two women with whom he'd fallen in love.

And there were reasons why, whenever they moved forward, calling for him to join, he would always fall behind.


End file.
